Men's Hockey Starts Season With 5-3 Loss At Quinnipiac

HAMDEN, Conn. ­– Trailing 2-0 the Crusaders responded with three straight goals, but then the Bobcats netted three unanswered goals as the Holy Cross men's hockey team fell to Quinnipiac, 5-3, on Wednesday night at High Point Solutions Arena at the TD Bank Sports Center in non-conference action. With the loss, the Crusaders start the season 0-1-0 overall, while the Bobcats improve to 2-1-0 overall.

The Bobcats took a 1-0 lead when Zack Currie scored a power play goal on a slap shot from the blue line at 7:35 of the first period. The Crusaders went 0-3 on the power play for the period, while Quinnipiac went 1-1. Holy Cross outshot the Bobcats, 7-6.

At 4:33 of the second period, the Bobcats increased their lead to 2-0 when Cory Hibbeler jumped on a loose puck and then wrapped it around the left post for the goal. But just 30 seconds later the Crusaders cut the deficit to 2-1 when senior Matthew Davis (Lancaster, N.Y.) fired the puck from in front of the net past Quinnipiac goalie Dan Clarke for his first collegiate goal. Senior Matt Gordon (Perth, Ontario) recorded an assist as the rebound from his shot went to Davis. Senior Andrew Cox (Lombardy, Ontario) also posted an assist. At 10:08, Holy Cross tied the contest at 2-2 with a goal by sophomore Shayne Stockton (Rochester, N.Y.) as he buried the puck in the right side of the net from the right faceoff circle. Sophomore Adam Schmidt (Warrington, Pa.) and junior Evan Zych (Kilbride, Ontario) posted assists. At 17:25, junior Kyle Fletcher (Kanata, Ontario) knocked in a rebound while on the power play off a shot by junior Rob Linsmayer (Winnetka, Ill.) to give Holy Cross a 3-2 lead. Junior Brandon Nunn (Fairport, N.Y.) also notched an assist. Quinnipiac outshot Holy Cross by an 18-12 margin, while the Crusaders went 1-2 on the man-advantage and the Bobcats went 0-4.

The Bobcats took a 4-3 lead with a goal by Ben Arnt at 8:02 of the third period. At 18:50, Connor Jones scored on a breakaway to clinch the victory for Quinnipiac.

Freshman goalie Matt Ginn (Lindsay, Ontario) made his collegiate debut and made 39 saves, while Dan Clarke made 21 saves to earn the win. Each team went 1-6 on the power play. The Bobcats outshot the Crusaders, 44-24.

The Crusaders return to action when they play their home opener at the Hart Center versus Atlantic Hockey opponent AIC at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 15.

College of the Holy CrossDepartment of Athletics 1 College Street Worcester, MA 01610